The western media have had their say on Ukraine, but what do the country's citizens feel about hosting Euro 2012 and how the rest of the world view them?
Football is not just a game and a big tournament such as the European Championship is not just a sporting event. Football is politics, economics – and a social phenomenon too. We have learned that in Ukraine in the past few months.
Ukraine enter Euro 2012 as one of the co-hosts on Monday night and, after all the preparations, we are just waiting to take on Sweden in our first game.
The build-up has not been easy. Even a few weeks before the tournament started, racism in Ukraine and Poland became a popular topic. The Panorama programme touched many people, not only in England.
There is a lack of education in Ukraine when it comes to racial issues. A Ukrainian person could, for example, say "Hey, black" to a black person without intending to be racist. That is not an excuse, that is just how it is at the moment. It does not make it right – at all –and the current generation and the next generation need to be taught that. Progress comes through education.
There is no denying that there is a certain percentage of idiots and right-wing extremists but to paint a picture that most Ukrainians are racist is simply not accurate.
There have been other things occupying the foreign media as well – although the boycott of some leading EU states has not offended the ordinary Ukrainian.
And the good news is that all the negative headlines (Oleg Voloshin from Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it "the method of the Cold War") have not stopped the festive atmosphere.
The early days of the tournament have created a "mad" atmosphere in Ukraine – and we mean that in the best possible way. Even those who had previously been indifferent to football have joined in the festivities. Before the tournament very few people would have watched the Poland v Greece game but that has changed now. The question is whether the interest will remain after the tournament. Hopefully it will.
Ahead of Euro 2012, the representatives of the travel agencies summed up the main desire of the country: we have one month to convince the rest of the world to come back to Ukraine for their holidays.
We have built stadiums, hotels, roads and airports. Undoubtedly, this is good for the country as a whole. Now the important thing is for the Euros to have a positive effect on the lives of ordinary Ukrainians after the tournament – and only time will tell whether that is the case.
The main problem with Euro 2012 is that is not an event for the whole country. After all, Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia and only four cities are directly involved. For the vast majority of Ukrainians Euro 2012 is a party at a distant neighbour. Read More
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